Who are ISIS-K? Can They Attack the US?
Summary from the AllSides News Team
Some U.S. government officials think ISIS-K, the terror organization responsible for the March 22 Moscow attack, could attack Europe or the U.S. in the near future.
Background: ISIS-K emerged in Afghanistan in 2014, and saw peak membership in 2018 before declining due to U.S. and Taliban efforts against it. The group is known to have a presence in Europe, though it has not staged a successful attack yet.
Prior Attacks: In January, the group killed 94 at a memorial for Iran’s former top general, Qasem Soleimani, who the U.S. assassinated in 2020. In 2021, the group killed 13 U.S. soldiers during the U.S. evacuation of Afghanistan.
Presence In Europe: In July 2023, Germany and the Netherlands arrested seven individuals linked to ISIS-K on terror suspicions. In December, four were arrested in Austria and Germany over suspicions of a New Year’s Eve attack.
U.S. Interests Abroad: On March 14, Central Command head Gen. Michael E. Kurilla, told a House committee ISIS that-K “retains the capability and the will to attack U.S. and Western interests abroad” in coming months. An attack on U.S. soil would be “much harder,” he said.
Homeland Security: On March 24, Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) told CBS News (Lean Left bias) that he believed ISIS-K could strike the U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) also told ABC News (Lean Left bias) that FBI Director Christopher Wray told him a trafficking network exists that smuggles individuals with ties to ISIS into the U.S.
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Center
Who are ISIS-K and why would they attack a concert hall in Russia?
The U.S. has intelligence confirming Islamic State's claim of responsibility for a deadly shooting attack at a concert near Moscow on Friday, a U.S. official told Reuters.
Here is information about the Islamic State's Afghan branch known as ISIS-K and their motives for attacking Russia:
WHAT IS ISIS-K?
Islamic State Khorasan (ISIS-K), named after an old term for the region that included parts of Iran, Turkmenistan and Afghanistan, emerged in eastern Afghanistan in late 2014 and quickly established a reputation for extreme brutality.
From the Right
After Russian terror attack, prominent lawmakers warn ISIS-K could strike U.S.
As the world absorbs the horror of the ISIS-K slaughter inside a Russian concert hall, prominent members of Congress are warning the Afghan-based terror group could strike inside the United States.
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Mike McCaul said Sunday the threat of an attack was heightened by President Joe Biden‘s bungled withdrawal from Afghanistan, which gave ISIS-K a breeding ground to train and carry out attacks.
“It’s sort of like we’re going back to that old playbook where history repeats itself,” McCaul told CBS. “And that’s why the fall...
From the Left
ISIS Affiliate Linked to Moscow Attack Has Global Ambitions
Five years ago this month, an American-backed Kurdish and Arab militia ousted Islamic State fighters from a village in eastern Syria, the group’s last sliver of territory.
Since then, the organization that once staked out a self-proclaimed caliphate across Iraq and Syria has metastasized into a more traditional terrorist group — a clandestine network of cells from West Africa to Southeast Asia engaged in guerrilla attacks, bombings and targeted assassinations.
None of the group’s affiliates have been as relentless as the Islamic State in Khorasan, which is active in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran and has set...
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